The present invention relates to a vanity console for use in a vehicle and one which provides an illuminated vanity mirror and/or video imaging.
Illuminated vanity mirror visors have been popular for many years and are a commonplace vehicle accessory. Although the vanity mirror incorporated in a visor is a convenient and cost efficient utilization of the visor for multiple functions, it does not always provide optimized functionality for a vanity mirror which is due, in part, to the shape constraints on a mirror mounted to a visor. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,824,159 and 5,182,675 disclose vehicle mounted vanity mirrors which are shaped to conform more closely to the face of a user and which are mounted independently from a visor. Such mirrors function only as vanity mirrors and, when illuminated, the mirror area available, due to the placing of lights on either side of the mirror, is somewhat limited.
There remains a need to provide separate functions for visors and for illuminated 15 vanity mirrors which optimize the functionality of the viewing structure. It is desirable, therefore, to provide a mirror which is proportionate to the shape of one's face and provide improved lighting. Further, it is desirable to provide a vanity console which can be located in an area which does not interfere with the operation of separate visors nor block the operator's or driver's view of the roadway.